Myth or Legend?
by LoveGarden22
Summary: When brother and sister venture into the jungle they meet the mysterious jungle man everyone has been talking about, they go on the adventure of their lives.


Chapter 1: The Jungle

"Andrew, look! There it is! Africa..." said my little sister jumping up and down at the bow of the boat.

"Yes, there it is." I replied half-heartedly. I didn't really want to go to Africa in the first place; I just went because I wasn't living on my own yet. I would rather stay in England, meanwhile my eight-year-old sister Elizabeth had been jumping up and down ever since our father mentioned the word "Africa".

She had always been an animal lover. Back at home she had several pets of many kinds, to which she gave equal care and attention to all. I would have thought that she didn't want to leave them all, but she was very much ecstatic when father said he was taking us on a boat to Africa on an expedition. I asked her about it and she said that her pets would be fine under the maids care, and that in the mean time she wanted to experience something new. She was very adventurous for her age.

However, I was more interested in my studies. I was obsessed with my school work and I hoped to be accepted into Oxford University soon to pursue my career as a doctor. I was only sixteen and I could be receiving acceptance at any day. I have known some of my peers to be accepted at ages proceeding my own.

Yet here I was on a boat on my way towards a jungle full of many wild beasts that I've never heard of, while my sister can probably name them from memory. When I was told of the voyage I had offered to stay at home with the maid, but our father, Mr. Benson, told me that with me studying so hard to venture off to school we hardly spend any time together as a family and this might be our last chance. Then there was Elizabeth, who also wanted me to come. So, I finally gave in to their wishes and joined them on the expedition.

At that moment our father joined us on deck and interrupted my thoughts. "Ah, the jungle... Your mother would have loved to be here with us today." He said breathing deeply. Ah, our mother, yet another thing to guilt trip me into coming. Our mother was a lover of flowers and nature, and our father constantly tells us how I get her curious mind, and how Lizzy gets her loving nature towards nature.

Our boat pulled up towards the dock, and as the foreman tied it off our family stepped off. I felt a strange sense of nausea from being on the boat for so long, but again, my sister didn't seem to feel a thing as she skipped down the gangplank and ran up the boardwalk towards the trading post. I hadn't the foggiest idea where she got all that energy from.

I gazed at the trading post, "So that's the place we're going to be staying?" my father nodded in my direction, "Lovely." I said sarcastically, as I felt my nausea rise up again.

"Don't worry, son. We should only be here no more than a week, maybe two at the latest." My father assured me, patting me on the back.

"Two weeks?! Here? Well, that's just great." I said clutching my stomach,

My father put his arm around my shoulders and guided me towards the trading post, "We should probably catch up with your sister, she must be giving the owner a hard time."

As we walked towards the building my father asked me, "Tell me, Andrew, if didn't want to come so badly, then why did you?"

I sighed, and admitted, "You did have a point. I study too much; I thought it might be nice to have a break. Plus, an adventure like this would look good on a college application. Besides, Lizzy wanted me to come."

We walked inside the building to see Elizabeth arguing with a tall man with black hair and a moustache. I assumed he was the owner,

"Will our room have a view of the jungle?" She asked him,

"'Zat all depends on which room you get." The man told her in French accent, when he saw us enter he seemed quite happy to see us,

"Hello, my name is Renard Dumont, and I am the owner of 'zis fine establishment. How may I help you?"

"Sorry if my daughter has been any trouble to you." My father apologized,

Mr. Dumont turned back towards Elizabeth who was glaring at him, "So 'zis is _your_ child?" he asked hesitantly,

"One of them, this is my son, Andrew." He said gesturing to me,

"Nice to meet you," I said no longer feeling nauseous, "Do you happen to have any books at this place?" I asked,

"Oh, a scholarly fellow?" Mr. Dumont noted, Elizabeth punched me in the arm. "You would be glad to know that I sell many fine books at my trading post."

"We can think about that later, Andrew." My father said glaring pointedly at me, he turned back to Mr. Dumont, "Right now, we need a place to stay. I'll be venturing out into the jungle tomorrow."

"But of course, you all can stay here. I have a few rooms open to guests."

Elizabeth went back to questioning Dumont, "Is there a chance that we will see Tarzan?" Back in England, after we had planned to go to Africa, Elizabeth had heard the Legend of Tarzan the Ape Man and became absolutely infatuated with it. She hasn't spoken of anything else on the entire boat ride.

Our Father and I groaned, "Elizabeth we talked about this, Tarzan is a myth." I told her, "It's physically impossible to grow up in the jungle without dying in the process."

"Besides, you won't be coming out into the jungle with me." Our father added,

"Why not?" She asked shocked. I was a little shocked myself. I mean, I was relieved that I didn't have to go in there, but what was the point of coming on this vacation if we were just going to stay in the trading post.

"The Jungle is far too dangerous, and I need you to keep your brother company." He explained, I chuckled to myself at that comment. Sure I would be staying out of the jungle, and I would need company, but it was Elizabeth he wanted to protect by keeping out of it. I was pretty careful.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." He told us, as he left to go back to the ship. He probably forgot something. After he was gone, Dumont turned to Elizabeth.

"I was going to say that Tarzan is indeed very real, and he would protect you from the dangers in the jungle." Elizabeth was overjoyed with the news, meanwhile I just shrugged it off. He was obviously saying that so he wouldn't crush her childhood dream. It was a good thing she wouldn't be going into the jungle to find out the truth.

**A/N: I will be including Tarzan later into the story. In the meantime, what did you think of Andrew and Elizabeth? Tell me in the reviews.**


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